Exclusive: Screenwriter Gaurav Solanki talks about the upcoming series Tandav

The multi-starrer political drama is all set for release on January 15 on Amazon Prime Video
Gaurav Solanki
Gaurav Solanki

Upcoming multi-starrer original series Tandav has been fuelling intrigue and admiration since the launch of its teaser and trailer. Created and directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, the political-drama is produced by Himanshu Kishan Mehra and Ali. With an all-star ensemble cast featuring Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Sunil Grover, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Dino Morea, Kumud Mishra, Gauahar Khan, Amyra Dastur, Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub, Kritika Kamra, Sarah Jane Dias, Sandhya Mridul, Annup Sonii, Hitten Ttejwani, Paresh Pahuja and Shonali Nagrani, among others, it is one of the most eagerly anticipated series of this year. 

And if you are any bit impressed by the tight screenplay and dialogue, the credit goes entirely to the young screenplay writer and poet Gaurav Solanki, who also wrote the script for Anubhav Sinha's much-acclaimed film, Article 15.

<em>Saif Ali Khan in Tandav</em>
Saif Ali Khan in Tandav

We had a chat with the young writer just a couple of days ahead of the film's release on Amazon  Prime Video. Excerpts from the same: 

With Tandav, which was supposed to be a film initially, you will debut in the web world. This is your first web series. How did you conceive the dialogues and screenplay?

I think Tandav had to be a web series and it would be a huge injustice to its possibilities, had it been only a film, because we could explore much more deeply because of the series format. Writing Tandav took a long time. Its story and characters kept evolving and expanding with every draft. I didn't do any other project during the main writing of Tandav. 

<em>A still from Tandav</em>
A still from Tandav

How different or difficult or easy it is to write the script for a series?

It's much more difficult and challenging than a film. It's like writing a novel for the screen. 

Is it difficult to keep the interest and tightness intact in series?

Yes, especially because of the length of the content. 

Tandav is an essentially political thriller, what were the things you kept in mind to keep it real?

While keeping it real was one of the motives, another aspiration was to explore its fictional possibilities without losing the realism of it. I have tried to go beyond the obvious chess-like game of politics and talk about human behaviour and the human condition.

<em>Gaurav Solanki</em>
Gaurav Solanki

What are the other projects that you are working for?

I have written a film called Freedom with Dibakar Banerjee that he is directing. Apart from that, I am writing another series and a feature film that I have to direct. 

Any other books on the anvil?

Yes, I hope two of my books will come out this year, one is a poetry collection and another is a short story collection. 

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